Posted on 07/17/2017 9:04:12 AM PDT by jacquej
My grandson has been accepted into the Business School at the University of Michigan, and we are all happy for him.
Here is the dilemma. They strongly advise that all incoming student have a PC, not a Mac. Since we are all Mac users from way back, we do not know enough about PCs to make an intelligent purchase.
We do know that Macs can run PC software partitioned, but it seems that there are some software programs that do not run well on partitioned Macs (proprietary, maybe?)
So can you all offer to help, without turning it into a platform fight?
highly recommend Lenovo. I have a Yoga and hubby who was a career Mac user got a new laptop in January and went Lenovo also, ideapad with a bigger screen. He loves it.
Thanks so much! You all are the greatest. I knew I could count on you.
My son will really appreciate this link!
There are actually 2 (or kind of 3) ways to run Windows OS on modern Apple hardware:
#1 You can run Parallels, or VMware to run the Windows OS as a virtualized window inside of the running Mac OS - This has some benefits, and some limitations - 3D acceleration, for example is lacking.
#2 You can boot into Windows OS directly (using Boot Camp) - This works extremely well, but at that point, you are running Windows, or Mac, and you need to reboot to switch between the two. This is the solution that should work well for you.
#3 (kind of) ia to set up the system to tun as in #2, but then open that Boot Camp partition using parallels (as a window running under Mac OS. That method allows for some of the benefits of a virtualized OS, but not all of the benefits - you do not get the full 3D acceleration speed.
Still, #2, and #3 do not require you to set up the system differently... you just choose which way you want to run it, when you run it - If you want the full hardware support, boot into windows. If you don’t need the additional support at any given time, you may simply choose to open that boot camp partition with Parallels, and then you have the windows OS in a Mac window, so you can work within both environments simultaneously. Then when you want to have the full hardware support, you reboot into the Windows exclusive mode.
So, in other words....
Set up for Boot Camp, and you are good to go.
Then, if you want to run Mac and Windows simultaneously, you can add parallels, and use it to open the existing Boot Camp partition, allowing for 2 simultaneous Os’s, but you do loose a little hardware speed if you choose to operate in that way.
Acer is a good product.
Stay away from HP.
I’ve done OK with Asus computers.
Remember, it doesn’t have to be super fancy for non-gaming use.
You’re talking about spreadsheets in business school, for the most part.
One of my kids got a ZenBook and was quite pleased with it for general use, because it’s light and has long battery life. (And he’s a scientific programmer).
I have one Mac bootcamped to run Windows. It works fine except for one application which the firmward on the Mac will not support.
I have run Lenovos for more than 20 years for my business applications.
My son who is an Apple user had to borrow one of my Lenovos for a year for a business application that he needed.
It is more likely that they do not want to gear up to provide any support for a MAC in their environment than anything issue related.
I use my iPhone for almost everything. My HP laptop stinks by comparison. My next computer will be a Mac.
I want to USE my computer..... not play IT guy every time I boot up.
That's a Microsoft bigoted IT department idiot at the college making that claim. You boot a Mac into Windows and the hardware IS a Windows computer. Especially for anything that is going to be required at a business specialized college. I've run into this before.
Many reviewers of hardware for Microsoft Windows specific magazines have reported that the very best notebook hardware to run Windows are Macs.
I would NOT put it past these Windows bigots in the college IT department to have created proprietary college software that checks to make sure what kind of hardware their college software is running on and shut down functions if it isn't what they want to encounter. I've seen that before.
I ran across one bigoted piece of software on a website that would only operate its scripts if you were specifically running Microsoft Internet Explorer on an Windows Based computer with an Intel processor. It would not even run if you were on a Windows computer that used an AMD processor. It checked, and if it didn't find what the software developer considered a "proper computer", it popped up an alert telling the user to buy a real Intel computer using a real browser, with a real operating system: now that's a platform snob! The really strange thing was this was a platform to BUY products from an online retailer! I made a direct phone call to the CEO of the company and asked him if he was in the business of selling HIS products or selling Microsoft's and Intel's products? He wanted to know what I was talking about... and I explained his IT department was insulting and chasing away a very high percentage of his potential customers. He was shocked. He had no clue what was going on in his own business.
If you do have to cow-tow to their IT requirements, don't skimp on a Windows laptop by buying a bottom of the barrel el-cheapo. You'll regret it. Buy one that is just as expensive as a Mac laptop and you should be OK. Any of the namellie brand makers among Dell, Lenovo, HP, Sony (a preference), Acer, etc. in that price range, would most likely do what your son will require and last the full four years.
Have a Windows expert strip out all of the crapware (trialware, etc.) they all come with and get it down to only what he needs to run; i.e. make it a mean, lean machine.
If you have a local computer repair shop, you can get a nice refurbished / used PC for a very reasonable price.
Lenovo, Acer, Dell - all decent.
STOP
Check with the IT department at the college. A lot of times the recommendation is made for X because the IT department only supports X and can’t help with Y or Z.
There is also the occasional software app that only runs in a particular browser or software. I have run into a requirement for a specific browser but that browser also worked on Linux and was able to install myself in Linux Mint and it ran the app just fine.
Understand that if you don’t follow their recommended package, you will most likely have to do or obtain your own computer support
Have a Windows expert strip out all of the crapware (trialware, etc.) they all come with and get it down to only what he needs to run; i.e. make it a mean, lean machine.
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This is why I won’t buy a Windows PC or laptop. This and the fact that every new version of Windows is worse than the previous.
Or, you can make your own PC that runs Mac:
It’s fairly easy to do, but if you are not tech-savvy, I wouldn’t recommend it. Best option, as noted by many people here, is to install boot camp on a Mac, and/or use parallels.
Agree. For the past 8 years we have only used PCs and laptops from the Dell Outlet Store. Windows 7 Pro in almost all cases. Have yet to have a problem.
Beat me to it!
Some of their reasoning is quite flawed.
The Mac needs no virus protection. In fact, Sophos, like all third-party Mac virus protection turns OFF the built-in OS primary level protection provided by Apple which works prior to any third-party protections. They do this so they can FIND some Mac viruses to block. . . but do so at the risk of actually infecting the computer and in fact add a performance hit to the Mac. If you do run a Windows OS on your Mac, you will need a virus protection of some kind.
A webcam optional???? Every Mac laptop since before they were included on Windows laptop has come with a built-in webcam? Do they even know anything about Apple products?
Connecting to printers and networks more complicated and more steps? No, it actually takes fewer steps. You just have to know how to do it. Again, if you are running your Mac in Windows, it takes exactly the same number of steps. If you've already set up your Mac to the school's network and printers, there is no reason to do it again when you start your VM Windows. It will already be connected.
With PCs, the platform choice should be driven by its intended software. So get that list. Most business schools have discounted versions of current Office and others that are in his curriculum.
Then pick a platform. Go desktop if at all possible, though there may be appealing deals on laptops. Desktops are infinitely customizable and repairable and don’t overheat. Definitely go with electronic HDD, maybe two for backup ease. OS will be driven by the software, but pick a pro version rather than home.
Buy all the RAM you can afford. It’s really more important than the processor variables. That’s more for the gamers.
Get the largest screen possible, or two. Almost all PC builds will support two monitors. Consider using modern TVs, just make sure they have the right jacks to match your PC. Wallyworld etc are decent suppliers for that, after the fact.
PC sources are just about anywhere. I have a preference for Dells and have bought from ebay vendors without a hitch. Tiger is also good if you want a store. Beware of the big boxes because of preinstalled crapware. With ebay, you can get a clean OS build. Find a guy who has a lot of listings and open a chat or phone conversation to get it right.
An informed user who keeps his machine up to date and doesn’t visit dangerous places is the best antivirus. Needless to say, frequent backups are good. I don’t use AV software and never have since intarwebs version 1.0.
Once you discover the power of a right-click, you’ll wonder how you lived without it. Same for the universality of devices, with the choice of any vendor as long as it’s not Apple.
This is not a knock on Macs but solely to nip a misaimed dig. I like Macs, have tried a Mac, had to return it because it would not run the technical software that was mandatory for me.
There is quite a bit of technical software used for number crunching that can only run at high speed, if at all, under Windows. In some cases, the math coprocessor in the video card is used in addition to the CPU processors. The software is optimized for Windows + Intel/AMD and that's it.
Back to the OP’s question though. I've been using and abusing PCs continuously since the late 1970s. Actually this was a bit before the word “personal computer” was coined. LOL.... My favorite brands are Hewlett-Packard and Dell. Corporate IT would probably recommend Dell as their business support is top notch. While Dell is solid quality, my experience is that HP gives better performance when pushed to its maximum, is rock solid in construction and has excellent tech support should problems crop up.
HP has some “gaming” oriented laptops that are a good value and won't break the bank. No matter what brand you end up going with, get the manufacture's extended warranty plan for multi-years and be sure it has USA based tech support and not some overseas crap.
You can test this out using the free virtualization software called VirtualBox which you can download here.
Not factual. Use Boot Camp and install Windows on any Mac and it is Windows. I haven’t heard of any serious problems even using VMWare or Parallels, but just dual-booting Windows and OS/X with the built-in Boot Camp resolves any possible issue.
I agree! We have computer labs that use boot camp for activities related to Windows and Mac Native for Mac activities. Best of both worlds.
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